Dame Laura Knight, R.A., R.W.S. 1877-1970

Painted from the quayside beneath Tregurnow Cliff, Lamorna Cove belongs to a series of coastal paintings undertaken by Laura Knight that all share a high viewpoint, a sunny palette and a distinct air of joie-de-vivre. Laura and her husband Harold had moved to Cornwall from Staithes in 1907 and had there stumbled upon not only a pristine, unspoilt landscape but a seductively relaxed way of life that was to have a profound impact on their work. As their contemporary Norman Garstin observed, ‘…with their advent, there came over their work an utter change in both their outlook and method: they at once plunged into a riot of brilliant sunshine of opulent colour and sensuous gaiety’ (cited in Caroline Fox, Dame Laura Knight , Phaidon, Oxford, 1988, p.26).

The unique quality of the glowing West Cornwall light, so different from that in Yorkshire, prompted Laura to take up the mantle of the Newlyn School with enthusiasm, always working out of doors (while Harold concentrated on interiors), and using her studio only to add her finishing touches. The effect of the golden sunlight shining on the irridescent sea is one that Laura embraced repeatedly. Here, in Lamorna Cove she translates her vision into vigorous carefree brushstrokes of flamboyant colour that spread unchecked across the bulk of this unusually large canvas like an ode to mid-summer. With an effective variation in the handling, she succeeds in contrasting the brilliant translucence of the shimmering sea rendered in an almost pointillist technique, with the far broader, flatter treatment of the distant static landscape. As the eye roams there are details of topographical interest to focus and guide the eye: the protruding end of the jetty, the far rocky shoreline and a group of white cottages in the upper left hand corner. Meanwhile in the fore- and middle-ground a flurry of human activity brings the scene alive and instils in the viewer the sense of the moment. The swimmers, apparently male, are an instant reminder of Henry Scott Tuke and his many scenes of bathers on Cornish beaches painted around this time. Though Laura's distant viewpoint in Lamorna Cove is altogether different from the one usually adopted by Tuke, there are nevertheless parallel references to be made with contemporary debates about healthy living, and the mantra of healthy body: healthy mind.

Though notoriously difficult to date, the impressionistic handling of the paint in Lamorna Cove seems to link it closely with other paintings of c.1915-16 such as Spring (1916, Coll. Tate Gallery, London). It is even possible, particularly given its substantial size, that the present work was in fact Laura’s exhibit at the 1915 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition entitled Children Swimming. What is certain is that the present work stands out as one of the largest and most celebratory of all Knight’s depictions of the glorious Cornish coast. Though she and Harold were to leave Cornwall for London just four years later they retained their studios at Lamorna Cove for a number of  years and Laura continued to exhibit Cornish subjects at the Royal Academy right up to her death.